Conflict-Free Smelters for All Four Conflict Minerals Posted by Enough Team <http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/enough-team> on Jan 31, 2014 [image: Gold in a tin (Sasha Lezhnev/Enough Project)]
This week, the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative, or CFSI, an initiative on conflict minerals of the tech industry association the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition<http://www.csrwire.com/members/16535-Electronic-Industry-Citizenship-Coalition>, or EICC, announced that, for the first time, there are now audited conflict-free smelters or refiners for the four identified conflict minerals: tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold<http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36666-Conflict-Free-Sources-for-All-Four-Conflict-Minerals-Now-Identified>. As the leading industry initiative on conflict minerals, this is an important development in the movement to develop a clean minerals trade worldwide. Smelters are the key choke point in the global supply chain for minerals. The basic concept is that as more smelters get audited in a stringent manner, there will be fewer and fewer places that smugglers can sell conflict minerals. So eventually they will be forced to give up, and the incentives will have shifted to transparent, clean minerals trade. "This is a major milestone in the global effort to support an end to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For over five years, over 120 companies have worked together to identify and validate, via a rigorous audit, conflict-free smelters and refiners of tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold," said Michael Rohwer, Program Director of the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative. Currently, there are 24 Tantalum smelters, 9 Tin smelters, 1 Tungsten smelter, and 32 Complaint Gold smelters; a total of 66 smelters. According to Sasha Lezhnev <http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/sasha-lezhnev>, Enough Project Senior Congo Policy Analyst, "having conflict-free smelters now available for all four conflict minerals is a tremendous achievement that we've all been waiting for for years. It means that electronics, aerospace and other companies can make informed choices in their supplier decisions based on conflict-free sources, and it is critical that more and more companies begin doing so." The Enough Project and other members of the advocacy community and tech industry, from Global Witness to Motorola Solutions to HP to the Responsible Sourcing Network, have been working since 2008 to advance the efforts of initiatives such as CFSI. Earlier this month, tech giant Intel<http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/thinkprogress-intel-announces-first-conflict-free-microprocessor> announced that its entire 2014 line of microprocessors would be free from conflict minerals, making them the first in the rare mineral-heavy industry to completely phase out their use in one of their products. CSR Press ReleaseConflict-Free Sources for All Four Conflict Minerals Now Identified Submitted by:Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition<http://www.csrwire.com/members/16535-Electronic-Industry-Citizenship-Coalition> Categories:Corporate Social Responsibility<http://www.csrwire.com/categories/23-Corporate-Social-Responsibility/press_releases> ,Sustainability<http://www.csrwire.com/categories/34-Sustainability/press_releases> Posted:Jan 30, 2014 - 10:23 AM EST <http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36666-Conflict-Free-Sources-for-All-Four-Conflict-Minerals-Now-Identified> <http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36666-Conflict-Free-Sources-for-All-Four-Conflict-Minerals-Now-Identified><http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36666-Conflict-Free-Sources-for-All-Four-Conflict-Minerals-Now-Identified><http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36666-Conflict-Free-Sources-for-All-Four-Conflict-Minerals-Now-Identified> ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 30 /CSRwire/ - In a landmark achievement in the fight against conflict minerals, the leading industry initiative on conflict minerals, the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI), has validated conflict-free smelters or refiners of all four conflict minerals for the first time in the initiative's five-year history. The CFSI calls on more smelters and refiners to join the effort to become conflict-free by undergoing the CFSI's independent, third-party conflict minerals audit. "This is a major milestone in the global effort to support an end to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For over five years, over 120 companies have worked together to identify and validate, via a rigorous audit, conflict-free smelters and refiners of tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold. The recent validation of the first conflict-free tungsten smelter<http://www.globaltungsten.com/download/Conflict_Free_Compliance.pdf> by our audit means we can now provide companies with information on conflict-free smelters or refiners of all four conflict minerals. This information is vital to support companies to make responsible choices about conflict minerals sourcing," said Michael Rohwer, Program Director of the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative. "Having conflict-free smelters now available for all four conflict minerals is a tremendous achievement that we've all been waiting for for years. It means that electronics, aerospace and other companies can make informed choices in their supplier decisions based on conflict-free sources, and it is critical that more and more companies begin doing so," said Sasha Lezhnev, Senior Policy Analyst at the Enough Project, an anti-genocide group. Understanding the challenges of tracing and determining the conflict status of minerals in the global supply chain, the CFSI developed an audit protocol based on global standards including OECD guidance and U.S. regulations. Audits of tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold (3TG) smelters and refiners are carried out by independent third party auditors, and smelters and refiners found to meet the requirements of the audit protocols are validated as conflict-free. The CFSI publishes the names of those smelters and refiners in order to facilitate conflict-free sourcing choices by companies. In addition to the smelter audit program, the CFSI provides a range of tools and resources that support conflict-free sourcing, including access to Reasonable Country of Origin Information (RCOI) data, the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template, which facilitates consistent sourcing data throughout the supply chain, and a range of guidance and analysis papers on practical conflict minerals due diligence. The CFSI also runs twice-yearly workshops on conflict minerals issues which are open to all participants. The 13thCFSI Workshop will take place in Brussels March 17-18, 2014 with a special focus on pending European Union regulations and conflict minerals initiatives based in the Great Lakes region. The CFSI welcomes new members from any company that uses or transacts in tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold is eligible for membership in the CFSI. The membership application is available online, along with further details of member benefits and annual fees. For more information, please contact: Julie Schindall <[email protected]> Director of Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Phone: +1 571 858 5721 Phone 2: +1 703 647 0967 Fax: +1 571 431 6317 Twitter: @EICCoalition <https://twitter.com/#!/@EICCoalition> Website:www.conflictfreesourcinginitiative.org For more from this organization: Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition<http://www.csrwire.com/members/16535-Electronic-Industry-Citizenship-Coalition> ------------------------------ Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition The *EICC* is a coalition of 89 leading global electronics companies working together to improve efficiency and social, ethical and environmental responsibility in the global supply chain. We enable and encourage our members to progress towards the EICC vision through a common Code... [image: Transparent_read_more_icon] Membership Page<http://www.csrwire.com/members/16535-Electronic-Industry-Citizenship-Coalition> Recent Press Releases - [image: Transparent_arrow] Conflict-Free Sources for All Four Conflict Minerals Now Identified<http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36666-Conflict-Free-Sources-for-All-Four-Conflict-Minerals-Now-Identified> - [image: Transparent_arrow] Leading Industry Initiative on Conflict Minerals Calls On More Companies to Join the Effort<http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36601-Leading-Industry-Initiative-on-Conflict-Minerals-Calls-On-More-Companies-to-Join-the-Effort> - [image: Transparent_arrow] Joint Conflict-Free Tungsten Program Announced<http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/36463-Joint-Conflict-Free-Tungsten-Program-Announced> - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. 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